Justification: The Righteousness of God Through Faith (Romans 3:21-31)

College Baptist Church

March 3, 2002

Purpose: To show that God declares us righteous when we place our faith in shed blood of Jesus Christ, His atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Text

Romans 3:21-31. ²¹ But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. ²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Introduction

Paul has strongly established that all of mankind is unrighteousness. In 1:18-21, he paints a graphic and depressing picture into the corrupt and evil nature of humanity, the Gentile world in particular. He says that God's wrath is being poured out against our wickedness. We've suppressed the truth about Him, even though His eternal power and divine nature is clearly seen in creation. He has given us over to the sinful desires of our hearts as we continue to suppress the truth. The depravity is so great that it includes the gamut of evil from sexual perversion to gossip and disobedience to parents.

But the Gentiles are not alone in depravity- sinful corruption and evil. In chapter 2, Paul declares, the smug Jews are also without hope- the religious moralists, the self-righteous, the "holier-than-thou" crowd, the "I'm-not-so-bad-and-live-a-pretty-good-life-compared-to-others" crowd. The possession of truth is inadequate grounds for acceptance by God. One must live the truth. The heart of the issue is the heart. Outward conformity with religious legalism gets no one closer to God. There needs to be a circumcision of the heart.

In 3:9-20, in no uncertain terms, Paul makes it clear that the Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin (3:9). Using a popular rabbinical teaching technique, he makes a "string of pearls" of a number of Old Testament passages to unequivocally make his case. There is no one righteous, not even one (3:10). He shows that we are depraved in character (3:10-12), in conduct- in word and actions (3:12-17), and in cause- There is no fear of God before their eyes (3:18).

But what about all those good people? There are a lot of good people out there. Yes, there are. But some acts of goodness from a self-motivated heart does change the nature of the depraved heart. "Turgenev, the Russian poet, caught it perfectly when he said, 'I don't know what the heart of a bad man is like, but I do know what the heart of a good man is like and it is terrible'" (Hughes). There is no one righteous, not even one.

Is there no hope? Are we so lost that there is nothing we can do to be right before God?

Transition

Yes, there is! In 3:21, there is a change of direction. We've become convinced of the unrighteousness of man. Paul now turns our attention back to the righteousness of God. In no uncertain terms, Paul establishes that God declares us righteous when we place our faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, His atoning sacrifice for our sins. Theologically, we call this justification- God declares us righteous as we place our faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us on Calvary.

Let us momentarily clarify that we will see this is God declaring us righteous. That is different than making us righteous. Justification has to do with our legal position before God. Later in Romans we will learn about sanctification- the process of becoming more Christ-like in our daily living.

Donald Grey Barnhouse declared, "I am convinced today, after these many years of Bible study, that these verses are the most important in the Bible" (Hughes). These verses certainly are pivotal in the book of Romans and contain the most glorious truth of Scripture. Let's unpack the details: (1) Justification is apart from the law, (2) available through Christ, (3) and we are accepted by faith.

Apart from the law

3:21. ²¹ But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

Paul returns to central theme of the book. In 1:17 he had clearly stated the theme: ¹⁷ For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." He follows that up with a clear and forceful description of mankind's condition- both the pagan and the religious self-righteous. But now signifies a return to the central theme- being unrighteous, how can we become righteous?

First, it is apart from the law. The Jews had missed the point of the law. They thought having God's law and trying to keep it gained them favor with God. But we know from Habakkuk 2:4 that the just shall live by faith. In fact, Paul is establishing that the Old Testament Law and the Prophets testified to (manifested, made visible, made clear) that righteousness from God was available when we received by faith. In chapter 4 he is going to teach that even Abraham, the father of Israel and the Jewish religion was saved by faith, apart from the law.

The Jews had missed the point of the law. 9:30-33 clearly explains why: ³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." ³³ As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." In this passage, Paul even quotes Isaiah 8:4, 28, 16, reinforcing that the Law and the Prophets testify to the overriding theme of Scripture- justification is by faith.

The law had always insisted on blood sacrifice for the remission, the forgiveness and cleansing, of sin. It was clear that one could not be made right with the law. No one could do it; no one ever did. The declaration of righteousness was through shed blood. A person was made righteous by believing - placing their faith in- God's way of declaring us righteous- through the shed blood of a sacrificial lamb. It was a lamb which looked forward to the ultimate sacrifice for sins- the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (as John the Baptist announced, John 1:29).

Available through Christ

3:22-26. ²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

1. Through faith .

2. Righteousness from God comes through faith. This is such an important point that Paul does a little double-speak for emphasize this truth- through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe .

   The effectiveness of faith comes not through one's exercise of faith, but in the virtue of the object of one's faith. Having faith in God is entrusting oneself to God. It is embracing that what He says is true and that it applies to you. It is basing one's convictions on and living one's life in such a way, that everything counts on the object of ones faith.

   This is different than just believing that a truth is valid. James argues that belief and a life response is essential for true faith to evident. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder (James 2:18b-19). It's not enough to believe truth about God. Placing one's faith in God is believing that the truth applies to you, and living in such a way that it shows you have embraced it as yours.

3. For all who believe .

4. All are sinners- and God's righteousness is for all who believe. This applies for the Jews and the Gentiles alike. This is not something available for only a select few- a certain race, or a certain religious group. John 1:12 tells us, ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

   Anyone and everyone here who would place their faith in Christ will be saved. Anyone and everyone here who places their faith in Christ will be declared righteous before God.

5. By grace .

6. Our text says, There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (3:22b-24). The righteousness of God which we receive by faith is by God's grace.

   Grace is being freely given what we do not deserve. On the flip side, it is not being given what we do deserve. As sinners, what we deserve is death. Romans 6:23 makes this clear: ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Grace is a free gift of something to be received in faith- God's righteousness which gives us eternal life. Ephesians 2:8 clarifies, ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

   This is hard for us humans. We want to think we have a hand in anything that's important to us- that we do something to deserve it. But the only thing we deserve is death. There is nothing we can do to deserve God's righteousness and eternal life. It is by grace, a free gift to be receive by faith. It costs us nothing, but it is at great cost to God.

7. At great cost to God .

8. 3:25. ²⁵ God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,   through faith in his blood.

   Warren Wiersbe reminds us, "Salvation is free, but it is not cheap." It is a great cost to God. He goes on to explain, "Three words express the price God paid for our salvation: propitiation, redemption, and blood. In human terms, 'propitiation' means appeasing someone who is angry, usually by a gift. But this is not what it means in the Bible. 'Propitiation' means the satisfying of God's holy Law, the meeting of its just demands, so that God can freely forgive those who come to Christ. The word 'blood' tells us what the price was. Jesus had to die on the cross in order to satisfy the Law and justify lost sinners" ( Bible Exposition ).

   Propitiation is a word that is in our KJV Bibles, but not our NIV. That's because another word that can be used to translate the word for propitiation is "expiate," which means to "make obsolete" and to "extinguish the guilt incurred by" someone (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition). It was a direct reference to the Old Testament sacrifice of atonement in which the sins of the people were wiped out, forgiven, through the shedding of the blood of a lamb.

   Here's what would happen on the Day of Atonement, described in Leviticus 16. "Two goats were presented at the altar, and one of them was chosen for a sacrifice. The goat was slain and its blood taken into the holy of holies and sprinkled on the mercy seat, that golden cover on the ark of the covenant. This sprinkled blood covered the two tablets of the Law inside the ark. The shed blood met (temporarily) the righteous demands of the holy God.

   "The priest then put his hands on the head of the other goat and confessed the sins of the people. Then the goat was taken out into the wilderness and set free to symbolize the carrying away of sins. 'As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us' ( Ps. 103:12 ). In the Old Testament period, the blood of animals could never take away sin; it could only cover it until the time when Jesus would come and purchase a finished salvation. God had 'passed over' the sins that were past ( Rom. 3:25 , literal translation), knowing that His Son would come and finish the work. Because of His death and resurrection, there would be 'redemption'- a purchasing of the sinner and setting him free" (Wiersbe, Bible Exposition ).

   This is what Jesus did for us. He was the ultimate and final sacrifice of atonement. It was at great cost to God. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22b). The blood of the perfect, sinless Lamb of God was shed to take away our unrighteousness.

9. In perfect justice .

Accepted by faith

3:27-31. ²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. ²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

The final verses reemphasize and clarify that we are accepted by faith. Paul highlights

1. No one can boast .

2. Our natural tendency- and it was especially true of the Jews rigorous efforts to uphold the law- is to want to do things on our own. We feel we need to work for things. (And usually in daily life we should earn our daily keep.) We want to be self-sufficient. What it comes down to is a matter of pride, the core sin of the human heart. If we could gain God's forgiveness through our goodness then we would have reason to boast. But we don't. It is grace. Let's hear Ephesians 2:8 again, and read verse 9 as well. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

3. Faith upholds the law .

Conclusion

What can our response be to this matchless and pivotal truth uncovered for us in these last few verses?

1. If we already have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we have much reason to rejoice! We have cause to worship Him all the more as we exult in these marvelous truths. Let not a day go by when you do not thank God for all you have been given in and through our Lord Jesus Christ!
2. We have something wonderful to share! And unless we share it, how will people ever know that this salvation is available to all who believe !
3. If we have never received God's righteousness through faith, what is holding you back? Pride? That won't get you very far in eternity. Embrace God's free gift for you today. Receive His forgiveness, acceptance and eternal life, as you place your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ shed for yours sins.

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